The Fires of Darkness
by Vexed Redhead
Summary: Harry has his friends come over to him and his wife's house on his 25th birthday,the night ends in drama and a few deaths...Please R/R!


A/N: Gah........I just finished a story by my friend, Ayden.......-crying and such-.....But...Ah....I feel depressed. This is what comes forth whilst I am so depressed.  
  
Disclaimer: Everyone in this story are of J.K. Rowling's making, except for Michael and Emma.  
  
The Fires of Darkness  
  
Section One: An Uneasy Birthday Party  
  
  
  
Harry Potter was celebrating his twenty-fifth birthday, having all of his friends from Hogwarts and his friends from work over. Also there was his wife and his five-year-old daughter. The evening started out fine.  
  
"Hey, Harry! Happy Birthday, old man!" Ron Weasley exclaimed, coming in Harry's front door around 2 o'clock that afternoon. "How's the wife and child?"  
  
"Alright. How's yours, Ron?" Harry grinned at his best friend, clapping him on the back. Coming in after him was his other best friend, Hermione Granger (Now Hermione Weasley) and their son, Michael. "Hey, Hermione." Harry bent down to speak to the five-year-old. "Hey, Michael. What are you up to?"  
  
"We're fine, Harry." Hermione assured him. She had packages in her arms. "Yes, for you. How are Cho and Emma?"  
  
"They're fine." He hugged Hermione. "Cho's in Emma's room, trying to wake her up. James is out in the backyard, playing in the sandbox. He woke up a half-hour ago," he added, then went on. "You know where the den is. Make yourselves at home!"  
  
At that instant, a black-haired, green-eyed child came running down the stairs. "Daddy! Daddy!" Her long black hair was hanging down, with two small braids tying around her head and ending, clasped together with a blue butterfly-clip.  
  
"Hello, Emma darling." Harry held his arms open and Emma ran into them, throwing her arms tightly around his neck. "Have a good nap?"  
  
"Yep!" Emma caught sight of Cho's parents walking into the house. "Granma! Granpa!" She unlatched her arms and ran to her grandparents.  
  
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Chang." Harry said, nodding his head in greeting.  
  
"Harry, dear, you've known us for ages! There is no need to keep calling us Mr. and Mrs. Chang!"  
  
"Alright, I'll do that. Cho's upstairs." He told them. "Have a seat." He smiled at them, but felt an uncomfortable feeling growing in his mind, lurking around the edges so he couldn't grasp it. He greeted everyone as they filtered in.  
  
Around 5 o'clock, they were seating themselves around a large table placed in the backyard. They picked up the menus, looking from their plates to the menus. Soon, the backyard of Number 12, Lovett Drive, Godric's Hollow was filled with the clanging of forks and knives and spoons on china plates. Harry was silent through dinner (well, most of the time), thinking about the growing discomfort in the back of his mind. Ehh, if Professor Trelawney had been there, she would have said he was having 'clouded clairvoyant vibrations', with a troubled look behind those large spectacles of hers. What is this feeling?! He thought, angry. I should know what it was, I'm positive I should. He gritted his teeth and drank a sip of sparkling water, forcing a smile.  
  
After dinner, he pulled Cho, Hermione, and Ron aside, to tell them about this feeling.  
  
"Harry, love, I'm sure it's just something that you've forgotten about, like some due paperwork or something. God knows we've got enough of it, what with me working for Witch Weekly and you being an Auror." Cho said.  
  
"Yeah, Harry, Cho's probably right. Let's go inside and see what you've got for your birthday, shall we?" Ron said.  
  
"Alright........." he said. Though that didn't knock the uneasy feeling away.  
  
Around 8 o'clock, Harry was getting more and more aware of the feeling. It was the feeling of rage and anger, that he recognized as coming from Voldemort. His scar burned in agony. "Ahh!" He clutched his forehead, as if trying to make the pain vanish.  
  
"Harry! Harry, are you alright?" Cho's, Hermione's, and Ron's calls were drowned out as a door burst open and screams filtered into the home.  
  
The Fires of Darkness  
  
Section Two: The Dark Lord  
  
  
  
"It's him! It's Voldemort! Cho, take Emma and James to safety!" Harry shouted over the screams as he ran to the front hall.  
  
"Ahh, Potter. We meet again." The cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy filled his ears.  
  
"What's it now, Malfoy? Voldemort's top man, are we, now that your father...passed away? Unfortunate accident, I daresay, but he deserved it. No one can kill Arthur Weasley and get away with it."  
  
Harry spat at him.  
  
"Don't you dare talk rubbish about my father, Potter!" Malfoy raised his wand.  
  
"Don't even! Crucio!" Ron, another Auror, was standing beside him, wand pointing at Malfoy. For only Aurors could use the Unforgivable Curses and get away with it.  
  
Draco's shrieks of pain filled the quaint, yet large house. A cloaked figure stepped up behind Draco, followed by another, and another. "Potter, we have come for you and your daughter. Heirs to Godric Gryffindor shall not stand a chance against the Dark Lord." Goyle's voice emitted from under the hood, and the other two were nodding in agreement.  
  
"You shall not get my daughter. Never will you get her!" Harry said, and raised his wand. "Stupefy!" He pointed his wand at Goyle, and on the other side of him, two matching red jects of light flew at the other two Death Eaters, Stunning all three of them. Ron released Draco and Stunned him, as well. Seamus and Neville stood behind him, wands lifted. (A/N: I'm hearing all of your reactions... "Neville?" Heh.) Then, seeming to form on the doorstep, another cloaked figure emerged. Harry's scar exploded with more pain.  
  
"So. Harry! We meet yet again. You and your silly little Auror friends seem to have defeated my Death Eaters.....for the moment." Voldemort's cold, cruel voice hissed at them, seeming to lick at them like the flames of a fire does with paper thrown into it. He lifted a new wand, different from when they last battled. "I have gotten a new wand so I can kill you properly, and kill you I shall, along with that retched daughter of yours, Harry Potter. No longer shall the Potters remain in this world."  
  
"You can kill me, Voldemort, but you will never lay a finger on my daughter. Never." He spat back, ignoring the blinding pain filtering from his scar. He raised his wand and shouted, "Stupefy!", wand pointed at Voldemort's heart, while at the same moment, Voldemort shouted, "Avada Kedavra!" The curses collided in midair and bounced off one another, sending the Killing Curse on a different trajectory path, beside Harry, and the Stunning one off its path, beside Voldemort. But Harry heard a soft thump as a body hit the floor beside him. He looked and saw Neville lying on the floor, already pale with death.  
  
"Damn you, Voldemort! Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted. He was too quick for Voldemort, and the wand went flying into his hands.  
  
"Potter, I will kill you, even if it has to be with my bare hands! Give me my wand back!" Voldemort positively shrieked, his deathly white face resembling Harry's Uncle Vernon's when he was quite angry.  
  
"No! NEVER. You killed my PARENTS, Cedric, Professor Lupin, Hagrid, and now Neville! You will not get away with it this time! You will never kill again, Voldemort, if it's the last thing I do!" Harry shouted back. It seemed to have stunned Voldemort, for he stepped back a few paces, looking at Harry. A swish of a cloak announced Ministry arrivals, other Aurors, and Harry's most needed person: Sirius.  
  
"Har--oh my God. Voldemort." Sirius breathed, his face paling. His black hair was pulled back from his face in a short ponytail clasped at the back of his neck. Grunge look. Very cool.  
  
"Oh, dear Lord! Voldemort AND Sirius Black!" A Ministry offical said.  
  
"Shut it, you! He's on our side, and always has been!" Harry said. "Look! Voldemort's here, he's killed Neville, and you need to help me!" He said through gritted teeth, not turning his back on Voldemort. The Ministry offical took Harry's advice and shut his mouth, and outside, you could hear other wizards dueling other Death Eaters. "Some of you go and help them. Actually, all of you. Now."  
  
"But, Ha--"  
  
"No buts, Ron. Go!" Harry ordered, and he heard a lot of pop!s as the crowd Disapparated. Harry stood tall, his wand and Voldemort's wand in his hands. He looked at Voldemort's wand. "Fancy this wand, do you, Voldemort? Say good-bye to it!" He snapped Voldemort's wand in half, and sparks flew everywhere as the dragon heartstring was snapped in two. He looked at Voldemort. "Don't feel so big and bad now that you don't have your wand, now do we, Voldemort? I hope you won't mind that I snapped it. It's a pity...such a fine wand....Ollivanders, I suppose? Well, you're in need of a new one." He dropped the two halves on the ground and stepped on them.  
  
"Potter......!" Voldemort hissed. He stooped and grabbed up Draco's wand while Harry was busy smashing the bits of Voldemort's wand. "Avada Kedavra!" He smirked as a green light flashed through the hallway.  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-----" Harry screamed as he heard the sound of rushing death fill his ears, and all was lost as he fell to the floor. The last thing he heard was Cho calling, "HARRY! NOOOOOOO!"  
  
________________________  
  
"Harry. He's been murdered. I need to go kill Voldemort." Sirius said over and over again as he ran to the house, Ron following closely at his heels. Sirius reached the house and found Voldemort standing in the doorway, back facing them, laughing his head off.  
  
"Now. For the child." Voldemort said, still smiling without mirth, but with cold blood.  
  
"You shall never live to see the sunrise again, Lord Voldemort." Sirius snarled at him, making Voldemort whirl around. "Hasn't anyone ever taught you not to curse while someone's back is turned? It's really very rude." And with that, Sirius raised his wand and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!" All that was rushing through his mind at this point was, 'Harry's dead. Harry's dead. You must avenge his death for Lily and James. You promised to protect him, yet you didn't. Kill Voldemort. Now'. And so he did, and he watched as Voldemort slumped to the ground and turned into mere ashes.  
  
  
  
The Fires of Darkness  
  
Section Three: Bittersweet Goodbyes  
  
  
  
"Cho.....Harry left this for you, if he ever died on the job." Ron said shakily, his eyes welling up with tears. It was the next morning, and the front door of the Potter household was in tatters, as was the front hall. He held out a small disc. "You just push the button in the middle."  
  
"I want to thank you, Ron. You're always such a good help to me. Without you and Hermione, I probably wouldn't be able to get through this." Cho had dark circles under her red-rimmed and puffy eyes, and tears were flowing steadily down her cheeks. Cho's mother had told him that she had been up all night, crying.  
  
"I'll leave you be now, Cho. Send me and Hermione an owl if you need anything." Ron hugged Cho, and he left, allowing the tears to go down his cheeks. His best friend for eleven years. His partner-in-crime. A flashback overtook him.  
  
"Now, as I understand it, the House Cup needs awarding, and the points stand thus: in fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four-hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."  
  
A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Ron could see Malfoy  
  
banging his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight.  
  
"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."  
  
The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little.  
  
"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes...  
  
"First--to Mr. Ronald Weasley..."  
  
Ron went purple in the face; he had a terrible feeling that he looked like a radish with a bad sunburn.  
  
"...for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."  
  
Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"  
  
At last, there was silence again.  
  
"Second--to Miss Hermione Granger...for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."  
  
Hermione buried her face in her arms; Ron thought she had burst into tears. Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves---they were a hundred points up.  
  
"Third--to Mr. Harry Potter..." said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet. "....for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."  
  
The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor had four hundred and seventy-two points---exactly the same as Slytherin. They had tied for the house cup--if only Dumbledore had given Harry one more point.  
  
Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent.  
  
"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."  
  
The flashback ended as he saw Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws alike cheering--they didn't want Slytherin to win. He found a fresh trail of tears coming down his face slowly, as two of his best friends were gone now, killed at the hands of Voldemort. He Apparated home to Hermione.  
  
  
  
The Fires of Darkness  
  
Section Four: A Double Funeral  
  
  
  
Fred and George Weasley watched as the caskets were lowered into the ground, the mirthful and mischievous gleam gone from their troubled brown eyes. Hermione was openly crying, letting the tears flow down her cheeks silently, cheeks scarred from battle. Ron stood beside her, his arm around her shoulder, his grief gone beyond tears. Ginny was pale, but she didn't seem to be allowing herself to cry, for if she did, she would faint with grief. Cho was holding Emma, who was sobbing her eyes out. Cho was also beyond tears, just depressed. The rest of the faces around the gravesites were somber and grave, either holding back tears or letting them flow freely. The weather couldn't have described the funeral. No, it was sunny, without a cloud in the sky, and warm. Professor Dumbledore, looking older than ever, stood beside the graves of the two men.  
  
"Ahem," said Dumbledore. Beside him stood Professor McGonagall, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, and Professor Snape, looking sullen, morose. Other professors were dabbing their eyes. Sirius was standing by Snape, looking extremely sad. "We are gathered here today on a most horrid occasion, the passing of two fine young men, killed in the face of one so evil, so desperately evil. The one thing that stopped him was this fine man here, Sirius Black, who avenged Harry's, Lily's, and James's, and all others killed by Voldemort's deaths with one blow. Thank you, Sirius." He bowed his head. "But," he continued, "That is not the reason why we are here. Harry James Potter, of Godric's Hollow, was born and killed on July 31st, twenty-five years apart. He lived with the Dursleys for eleven years, then he came to Hogwarts, where he humoured us--"Dumbledore looked at McGonagall, "--and was punished for various reasons. In his fourth year, one of his great friends, Cedric Diggory, was murdered by the Dark Lord, during the last task of the Triwizard Tournament. During his fifth year, one of his father's best friends, Remus Lupin, was murdered also by the one who murdered Cedric. Ahh, for a year Voldemort didn't bother Harry, then in his seventh year, during which he was Head Boy, Voldemort struck again, killing Rubeus Hagrid and severely harming Hermione Granger--now Weasley-- and Ronald Weasley. Harry himself was in the Hospital Wing for a week after that particular battle. Then," Dumbledore went on,"Voldemort didn't strike until this year, July 31st, killing first Neville Longbottom and then Harry Potter. Voldemort was then struck down by Sirius Black, as I stated before." Dumbledore bowed his head. "But enough about Harry. Neville Longbottom, son of Frank and Adrienne Longbottom, was born on April 7, in London, England. Before he was two, his parents were tortured by Death Eaters with the Cruciatus Curse, enough to drive them to insanity. They are held in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies still, but they do not know their son is dead. When he was eight, his family thought him to be a squib, but then his uncle dropped him out of a window--and he bounced all the way to the road. He then began attending Hogwarts, where he excelled in Herbology, and did well in most--"He threw a glance at Snape, who was looking angry with himself."--classes. He was an Auror up until he was taken subject by the Killing Curse, which had bounced off of Harry's Stunning Curse. Let us now bow our heads to these two wonderful men."  
  
Everyone bowed their heads. Emma, who was still sobbing, clambered out of Cho's arms and ran to the foot of Harry's grave. "DADDY! NOOOOOOOOO!" She shrieked, still sobbing.  
  
"Emma, come back to Mum, sweetheart." Cho said softly, now crying. She knelt and held her arms out, into which Emma ran, burying her face in Cho's shoulder, shaking with sobs. Emma's brother, Justin, who was three and didn't understand death yet, stood by Cho, with an empty look on his face.  
  
"The Surviving family members of Neville are: Neville's wife, Hannah; their twin son and daughter, Thomas and Leigh; his parents; his grandmother; his uncle; his aunt; his cousin; and his mother and father- inlaw. Harry's surviving family members are: his wife, Cho, who is pregnant with twins; their daughter, Emma; their son, Justin; his mother and father-inlaw; and his godfather." Dumbledore said. "And now, I believe Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Longbottom have a few words to say."  
  
Cho and Hannah walked over to Dumbledore, wiping their eyes. Cho sniffled, then began. "We--Hannah and I, I mean--would like to thank you all for coming to our husbands' funerals today. We would also like to thank you, Sirius, for taking care of Voldemort, and the Ministry officals for taking the Death Eaters who assisted Voldemort two nights ago." Cho and Hannah looked at each other. "Thank you." The two said in unison. Members among the crowd murmured a 'you're welcome' and bowed their heads in grief. "You all may leave now." Cho added, and the two embraced shortly and went back to where their families were gathered.  
  
  
  
The Fires of Darkness  
  
Section Five: Five Years Later  
  
  
  
Cho sat on her bed, with Justin, Emma, and the twins(named Harry and Lily) seated in front of her. It had been five years, and she was thirty- one. She smiled at the children. "What bedtime story do you kids want to hear tonight?" She asked them softly.  
  
"Mommy, Mommy! We want to hear about Daddy!" Harry and Lily exclaimed at the same time.  
  
"Alright.....about thirty years ago, a boy with black hair and vividly green eyes was born to a couple named Lily and James--your grandparents--in Godric's Hollow, which is in Wales. This boy, named Harry-- your father--, lived in peace with his parents for about a year. Then, on October 31st, 1982, an evil man called Lord Voldemort came down upon the Potter's household, and he killed James and Lily. He tried to kill Harry, too, but he couldn't kill him. The spell bounced off Harry, leaving him with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, and it hit Voldemort, and sent him into hiding for eleven years. For ten years of Harry's life, he lived with his aunt, uncle, and cousin, the Dursleys, until one day when he got a letter from Hogwarts, the school where all of you will be going. He was whisked away on the Hogwarts Express to Hogwarts, where he met his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger--your Godparents." And so Cho went on to explain Harry's life, and had the children leaning forward, trying to hear what happens next during his fourth year. Soon, she was up to his twenty-fifth birthday, and she didn't detail it too much, because it would have caused Emma and James too much grief, as they were alive when Harry was murdered. Emma sometimes woke up at night, screaming, "DADDY!", and James woke up melancholic, both telling Cho about the dream, which ended with visions of the funeral.  
  
"And so his wife had two more children who she loved as much as her other two, and now her children are 10, 8, and 5." She gave her children a kiss on the forehead. "Now off to bed with you. Begone, children!" She grinned. "Or the tickle-monster will get you!" They all ran out, shrieking with laughter, and clambered into their beds.  
  
Her smile faded, and she looked at the photo on her bedside table, one of herself, Harry, Emma, and James gathered in front of their old house. She picked it up and hugged it to her chest. Harry....where are you now that I need you most.....the children are growing up magnifically....I've named the twins Harry and Lily, like we talked about, love. I just wish you were here to share the joy of them growing up with me. Why didn't you live, love? You lived all of the other times......why not this one? That will remain unknown....  
  
Cho put the picture down and lay down in bed, facing the picture like she always did. Never forget, Harry, that I love you.....  
  
****  
  
A/n: So what did y'all think? I might have a sequel with what was on the disc. =D 


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